The thrilling video quickly spread online through popular sites including UNILAD, LADbible, 9gag, and more, where internet users responded with comments such as, “Whoever makes the brakes for that car needs a raise.”

Roughly 33 million views later, Volkswagen cheekily revealed that the viral clip was actually an ad, made by creative agency DDB, promoting its safety-centric Volkswagen ‘Polo’.

“The new ‘Polo’ is teeming with intuitive safety technology. The challenge we had is that safety technology isn’t a key driver for our younger ‘Polo’ audience. We challenged DDB to find a way of making safety technology relevant to this demographic,” explained Rowena Kanna, marketing communications manager of Volkswagen Australia.

The idea was to tap into the popular social media genre of failed videos, but to remove the unsuccessful aspect in the same way that the safety technology of the ‘Polo’ does.

A series of “unfail” videos were made for social media infiltration by DDB in collaboration with production studio Riot Content. The ads are part of Volkswagen’s ‘More Polo. Less Drama.’ campaign that was rolled out earlier this year.

“Each unfail video has an unexpected plot twist that showcases how the ‘Polo’ could help you out of everyday dramas. Because, ultimately, that’s all we’re trying to do; remove the drama from your drive,” added Kanna.

Watch the humorous case study below but please, do not try this stunt at home.